Covid-19: Northern Ireland has four districts in UK top five as infection rates rocket

Q Radio News/PA

A new table for Covid cases shows Northern Ireland has four districts in the UK top five.

They are Derry City & Strabane, Fermanagh & Omagh, Mid Ulster and Newry, Mourne & Down. 

The figures, for the seven days to January 2, are based on the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in a lab-reported test, plus, in England, positive rapid lateral flow tests that do not have a negative confirmatory lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 72 hours.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days (January 3-6) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 354 (94%) have seen a week-on-week rise in rates and 23 (6%) have seen a fall.

Derry City & Strabane continues to have the highest rate in the UK, with 7,328 new cases in the seven days to January 2, the equivalent of 4,849.5 per 100,000 people.

This is up from a rate of 1,756.3 for the seven days to December 26.

Fermanagh & Omagh has the second highest rate, up from 1,353.4 to 3,858.1, with 4,527 new cases.

Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria has the third highest rate, up from 1,754.9 to 3,312.1, with 2,210 new cases.

Blaenau Gwent has the highest rate in Wales (3,077.7, up from 932.6) and Inverclyde has the highest rate in Scotland (2,775.8, up from 1,312.0).

The five UK areas with the biggest week-on-week rises are:

Derry City & Strabane (up from 1,756.3 to 4,849.5)

Fermanagh & Omagh (1,353.4 to 3,858.1)

Blaenau Gwent (932.6 to 3,077.7)

Mid Ulster (1,142.6 to 2,971.4)

Newry, Mourne & Down (1,323.8 to 3124.9)

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency using data published on January 6 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.